The Voyages of Captain Cook

Found this book in another of those "out of the way" cubby-hole book stores up in BC. It's a pocket size paperback (about the same size as the Manmoth Books). The cover states that it's part of the Wordsworth Classics of World Literature. Upon closer inspection I found that this is a reprint of the 1906 Everyman edition (popular books series of that time, sort of like "the book of the month club") of Captain Cook's Voyages of Discovery. This was edited by Ernest Rhys and is done as a "third person" narrative for the 1st & 2nd voyages. The 3rd voyage uses extracts from the journals of both Cook and Lieutenant King (for the account of Cooks death) to produce a 1st person narrative.

Publisher's comments: "Captain Cook's three voyages of discovery, which took place between 1768 and 1779 are among the most remarkable achievements in the history of exploration. During these long and arduous voyages Cook charted with astonishing accuracy vast areas of the Pacific Ocean from the coasts of New Zealand and Eastern Australia and the myraid islands of the South Pacific to the Arctic regions of America and Russia in the Bering Sea and beyond. The voyages also made a significant contribution towards solving some of the great puzzles and problems of cartography and navigation. With crews containing gifted sailors and navigators, as well as botanists, painters and scientists, Cook provides the link between the speculative, profit-hungry voyagese of the Elizabethan seafarers and the scientific expeditions of the ninethhnth and twenitieth centuriies."

I would best describe it as a "novelized account of events as they happened". While it's "interesting reading", it's not exciting (at least by my yardstick). I found itto be a good historical reference and if that's what you want, this will fill the square (if you can find it)

Wordsworth Editions Limited 1999 ISBN 1 84022 100 3

It's in my library.